Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter seventy-seven. house of dreams

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            The Mask...it's not complete. Something is missing. But it is there.

            The Mask of Anubis is just out of our reach, trapped behind glass and guarded by the huge jackal statues. I'm struck breathless at the sight of it. It's beautiful. And Louisa Frobisher-Smythe definitely saw this mask. The replica in the exhibition looks exactly like it, right down to that little dent in the forehead. It's right there. We're so close to ending this once and for all.

            "The Mask of Anubis," Nina breathes.

            "It's so pretty," Amber remarks. "For a dog mask." I hit her on the arm, giving her a look before laying my eyes on it again. Wow.

            Alfie looks at us. "What are we waiting for?" He steps forward again and the golden light of the Mask disappears, and that rumbling returns. This time, I don't have a good feeling about it. Nina pulls him back as something rises from the floor in front of the Mask. A fifth guard.

            "The golden prize," says a familiar, recorded voice, "will tempt the fool. The wise should heed this golden rule." Nina tells us it's Robert Frobisher-Smythe. Again. Another recording. "This game of senet you cannot win. Only the reckless will even begin. One wrong move will seal your fate, an end too dark to contemplate."

            "An end too dark to contemplate?" I repeat warily, glancing at the other Sibunas.

            "Okay, what does that mean?" Alfie questions.

            "It means," Fabian answers, "that we need to be absolutely sure of the rules before we even think about playing. Ashley, you need to write down everything Anubis tells you about this game."

            Patricia retorts, "We're thinking of playing?"

            "She's right," Nina agrees. "It's too dangerous. This one I do on my own."

            I throw Nina a look, shaking my head to disagree as Fabian counters, "No, no, look, what if we need other players? Nina, I will not let you do this by yourself. Come on, we all got the Mark together. Not just Nina. We can do this."

            I look back at the spot where the Mask of Anubis was, taking a deep breath. We can do this, all six of us. We can do this and get Senkhara off our backs. Anubis, we really need those rules...

            "Sibuna."

—

            I blindly reach for a breakfast muffin, trying to write down the rules to the game as quickly as Anubis is giving me them. To anyone who isn't in Sibuna, it really does just look like I'm rushing to finish homework before school starts. Amber actually just looked at me like I was crazy and I pointed at my head, which she understood. He's giving me the rules to senet.